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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · cap · race · wax · bat · land

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. land — a country
  3. cap — of ice
  4. face — to point toward
  5. race — humankind
  6. face — part of the head
  7. cap — a lid
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. race — the arms race
  10. land — ground
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. land — to come down
  13. cap — a hat
  14. wax — to grow
  15. race — a contest
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. face — to confront

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com